WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT JIMMY
by Ballyuk
Summary: Extension of the hospital scene from 9x01 (Savior). What if Chloe managed to tell Lois what had happened in Metropolis during her unexplained disappearance? Lois and Jimmy were reasonably close on the show but they never showed Lois learning about what happened to him, never mind how it might affect her.


**Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters. A significant portion of the story is the actual hospital scene from the episode, but with added context prior and an totally different ending. Basically, Chloe manages to tell Lois about what happened with the whole Doomsday debacle and what happened to Jimmy.**

* * *

 **WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT JIMMY.**

* * *

After receiving the call, Chloe had dropped everything and dashed to Met Gen. It had been a physically and emotionally crippling few weeks and the aftermath of Doomsday's attack on Metropolis had left her in a world where there was nobody to talk to. A breakthrough at last though, and a chance to let out the breath she felt like she'd been holding in for weeks.

Sure there had been Emil who was somewhat of a friendly face but they didn't know each other all that well and all she had to go on was that Oliver trusted the good doctor. Oliver didn't place his trust lightly which was understandable given the clandestine nature of his activities as Green Arrow with the Justice League, and Emil had been very open and understanding of Chloe's situation so she figured it wouldn't be a bad thing to have him around. If nothing else, Emil's presence took some of the coldness and loneliness out of the vast rooftop apartment that Jimmy had purchased as a place which the newlyweds were supposed have been able to call home.

There was also Martha Kent in Washington. Chloe had spoken to her a couple of days after Jimmy's funeral. She'd waited that long to try and shake off the numbness that had enveloped her ever since he lay there dying in her arms and that had got stronger on the day of the funeral, and also because she knew Martha would be more than a little bit tied up with Senatorial matters of an urgent nature following Doomsday's destructive rampage through Metropolis. In that brief conversation, Martha had asked Chloe to give it some time with Clark even though she knew Chloe really needed her best friend there. The two had decided to concoct a story to explain Clark's absence which was that he was in Poughkeepsie dealing with an urgent family matter. It was detailed enough to be plausible and yet vague enough so as not to arouse suspicion or further questioning.

Martha had also used her connections to try and find out what had happened to Lois but with no luck. There were still a handful of people unaccounted for in Metropolis following the Doomsday attack and Lois was one of those. Hundreds of injured and more than a few dead had been pulled out of the rubble over the week following the attack but so far there had been no sign of Lois anywhere. All of her known hangouts had been checked and re-checked without success. Calling her cellphone didn't help because it hadn't been possible to connect and a quick glance at her phone records showed that she'd last used it earlier on the evening of the attack, and that turned out to be a source for a piece she was working on about the sudden hike in cab fares in Metropolis. An easy link to verify and then dismiss when trying to locate her whereabouts.

Both Chloe and Martha knew that Clark choosing to go 'off the grid' had much to do with his guilt over Jimmy's death and not being able to help Davis, but the biggest factor was Lois. He had not been able to save her and had lost her. In the past, Clark had taken off for pastures new when things got on top of him and the thought had crossed Chloe's mind after she'd spoken to him following Jimmy's funeral, but the regular reports of rescues and heroics by the city's anonymous good Samaritan let Chloe and Martha know that Clark was at least channelling his energies in a much more positive way. They could at least hope that Clark would return and embrace his human side again. Goodness knows they needed him to.

Chloe refocused her thoughts to the present. Lois was alive and in the ER at Met Gen having been brought in following an accident involving the city's monorail. The desk nurse had quelled Chloe's doubts over the phone about whether it was really Lois when she described how utterly disagreeable the patient was being despite clearly suffering from concussion, dehydration and being less than steady on her feet. It sure sounded like Lois. She ran into the ER department and quickly identified herself to the desk nurse, who prompted her through a set of double doors to a ward where the monorail accident survivors were being treated. It was a pretty chaotic scene.

Not seeing Lois amongst the throng in the waiting area, Chloe headed towards the private treatment rooms at the far end. It was in the second one where she spotted just the person she'd hoped to see. Lois had got out of bed and was sporting a hospital gown, looking somewhat dishevelled but very much alive.

"Lo! The desk nurse called me. Where have you been? What happened to you?" said the blonde as she pulled the equally relieved Lois into a tight hug and brushed her bangs away from her face.

Lois sighed before replying. "Um, Tess was rambling about some alien orb and then we threw down in the middle of the Daily Planet and wham! I wake up in a monorail car with some ninja chick after me."

Chloe stood there dazed for a moment at Lois' account of events. It was exactly the sort of way with words that Daily Planet readers had become familiar with from numerous articles written by the feisty brunette reporter. It was to the point yet intriguing enough that it pulled you into the story and left you wanting to know more. It was a gift that Chloe had recognised in Lois from the moment she'd arrived in Smallville and was certainly a bonus when tied in with Lois' natural inclination towards investigating and digging up dirt (not to mention getting into trouble). Searching out the story and then being able to tell it in such style meant that many a copy editor had long since overlooked the liberties Lois usually took with spelling and punctuation. It was easier to correct minor flaws in a great story than it was to make a grammatically correct yet boring piece interesting.

It was clear however that Lois had no idea of what had happened in the three weeks she'd been missing, or even that she'd been missing for three weeks.

"Alien orb? I think maybe you just bumped your head in the accident," said Chloe to a confused Lois.

"Wait. Where have _I_ been? _You_ were the one who was playing 'Thelma  & Louise' with the creature from the black lagoon. How did you manage to ditch Davis?"

The mention of Davis threatened to cause emotion to bubble over in Chloe and she was grateful that the need to establish how Lois had wound up in hospital enabled her to keep the tears at bay. Thoughts of Davis meant that thoughts of Jimmy were never far behind and those were usually followed by thoughts of how she'd left Jimmy behind. He had done nothing wrong and yet had suffered the trauma of being close to death following their wedding (unknown at the time but thanks to Davis), then seeing their marriage fall apart because she'd chosen to trust Davis over her own husband. And then the cruellest of ironies that the one she'd put greater trust in had committed the act that saw Jimmy's life come to a premature end. Chloe had to put those thoughts aside right now though.

"I didn't exactly ditch Davis," she said rather nervously.

Lois hadn't picked up on Chloe's mood. She recalled her previous chat with her hero and his despondent vibe over the phone where he suggested that while he'll do all he can to bring Chloe back, it could be at the cost of his own life. Or at the very least a parting of the ways as Metropolis' saviour. She felt a wave of elation take over. Was it a crush? Was it love? Was it merely gratitude? Who cares! The Red-Blue Blur was alive and he'd kept his promise to bring Chloe back.

"It was the Red-Blue Blur, wasn't it? I knew it. He promised me he'd save you, and he did. That means he's still alive. The train...he saved the train too, didn't he?"

The gushing tone took Chloe by surprise but the revelation that Lois and the Blur had been in contact was an even bigger one. Clark had turned his back on humanity and had resolved to remain in the shadows as an anonymous hero. Chloe had neither seen nor heard from him in weeks and yet he and Lois were still communicating with each other? Even though Lois didn't know about Clark's alter-ego, and even though she didn't seem to realise she'd been missing for weeks?

"You've been talking to the Blur?"

"Yes, he sort of confides in me."

"Of course he does." Chloe could barely keep the hurt out of her voice.

Lois glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed the time. She suddenly remembered she was supposed to have a rendezvous with the Blur at their agreed meeting place, the phone booth on the corner of 4th and Main.

"Holy...it's almost midnight. I promised I'd meet him. I'm gonna be late!"

As Lois opened the closet to get her clothes and personal effects, Chloe couldn't let Lois leave without telling her what had happened. Chloe knew that a Lois who was aware of what had happened would not be in such a rush to head off and get giddy about speaking to the Blur. She also knew that Lois was usually eager to get out of hospital whether discharged or not. Chloe realised that she'd been so focussed on finding Lois that she hadn't given much thought to what she was going to say to her. She had to keep the emotion out of her voice yet still needed something there to make Lois take a step back and listen to her.

"You are way beyond late, okay? You just need to slow down. There's something that you need to know."

Lois had already made up her mind to leave though and wasn't ready to hang around. "He is the only one who could help me escape from the jaws of crouching tigers. I'm sorry, whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait."

This was going to be tougher than Chloe thought so she just went for it. She had to make Lois sit down and understand even if it called for the use of harsh words or physical restraint. Injured on not, Lois was more than a physical match for Chloe so she hoped the intensity in her expression and her words would have the desired effect.

"No, _you_ need to wait, okay? I've got kind of a big bomb I need to drop on you."

They had the desired effect. Lois calmed down, walked back to the bed and sat down. She was exhausted.

"You know what? You're right. I probably just took one on the noggin and now I'm flipping out. I think I could use a sedative. It's been kind of a long day."

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the room towards the nurse's station, pausing to take a glimpse back at Lois who was still sitting down.

"I'll get you two."

Unbeknownst to Lois, Chloe had already asked the nurses not to allow Lois to discharge herself or simply leave. She knew her cousin too well. So when Lois thought the coast was clear, she'd quickly grabbed her belongings and made to leave through the room's other door only to be stopped by a nurse and a particularly burly orderly, who could have passed for a doorman at the Ace of Clubs, Lois thought. She let out a huff of annoyance and traipsed back to her room where Chloe and another nurse were already waiting. Lois sat back down on the bed and looked at Chloe, who merely raised her eyebrows. No words were required. Checkmate.

"Lo, when I said I had a big bomb to drop on you, I meant it. Believe me, it's important and I need you to listen. Please?"

The nurses and orderly had left the room, and Chloe walked over to the bed and sat down beside Lois and handed her the glass of water she was holding. Lois took a sip, put the glass down on the table and motioned for Chloe to continue.

"Lois, you were in such a rush to leave here it seemed like you thought you were late for a meeting with the Blur. Now I don't know what that meeting was about but I can safely say you missed it." She sighed heavily before continuing, "Lo, you've been missing for almost three weeks."

Lois' eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What?" she yelled, loud enough that a nurse from outside peered into the room for a moment. "What do you mean? How? What day is it?" she asked, incredulous.

Chloe picked up Lois' chart from the end of the bed and pointed out the date to Lois. September 24th, 2009. Lois stared at the chart in disbelief before looking up to stare at Chloe. She could barely get her next words out.

"But…h-how?"

Chloe took a gulp, thinking about how to tell the story without mentioning Clark's abilities and involvement. She reached over and took Lois' right hand in hers.

"Well, the day you went missing is the same day a monster laid waste to Metropolis. A lot of people were injured, some were killed and several more still were missing. Some of them still are and up until tonight, I thought you were one of them. Lois, the creature that went on the rampage was the same one that attacked us at the wedding."

Lois sat mouth agape trying to take in this news. Her thoughts very quickly turned to those she cared about and what had happened to them. She recalled Jimmy saying he was working with Oliver, and she'd seen Clark in the bullpen shortly before her showdown with Tess.

"What about Oliver? Jimmy? Is Clark alright? Were they hurt? How did you get away from Davis?" she fired off in rapid succession.

Chloe sighed again, holding Lois' hand a little bit tighter, willing the tears not to fall even though her eyes had already begun to glisten.

"Oliver went after the creature along with his team. They're all absolutely fine and the creature has not been seen since. They found it and dealt with it, with help from the Blur."

A pause to try again to gather herself.

"Clark spent countless hours looking for you without success, as did Oliver. Clark was really cut up about it and hadn't been sleeping much what with work and looking after the farm. He then had a family emergency to deal with in Poughkeepsie and has been there for most of the past week. I haven't spoken to him in that time but I need to let him know you're safe and well."

Lois was stunned by how much her absence had affected Clark but she could also tell that the 'big bomb' hadn't yet been dropped. She looked at Chloe with a heavy heart seeing her younger cousin's increasingly angst-ridden face. Chloe continued, by now struggling to stifle sobs.

"You asked me about how I got away from Davis. Well, Davis was himself meteor infected and a murderer, and the reason I went away with him was because he felt that my presence helped him curb his murderous streak. I put it down to my work with the Isis Foundation where we were sort of a support group for the meteor infected. My presence calmed him and he hadn't done anything when we went away briefly. I knew I was taking a huge risk but I figured keeping him subdued was better than the other option. Davis said he loved me and I cared about him, but he couldn't get over the fact I still loved Jimmy."

Getting that name out with barely a strangled whisper, the tears were really flowing now. Lois could feel tears of her own now, seeing the pain that Chloe was obviously in.

"When we got back to Metropolis, I dropped Davis off at his apartment and went to the new apartment that Jimmy had bought for us. It's a wonderful place high above the city, and we would be able to see it from wherever we were. It needed a lot of work doing to it but Jimmy said he'd bought it for us just before our wedding as a place that we could do up, give it our own unique stamp and make it our home." She let out a small laugh through the tears before adding, "We were going to surprise you all with it!"

Chloe had surprised herself by revealing this much, so she decided to continue. "I met up there with Jimmy who told me all of this and I could only feel regret for how much I'd let him down. He'd always thought that Davis was bad news and was upset that I'd chosen to put my trust in Davis over him - that I didn't believe him. Our marriage had dissolved before it had begun and Jimmy became addicted to painkillers on account of his injuries and post-traumatic stress."

Chloe had chosen this moment to pause for thought and that gave a window for Lois to speak. With barely a whisper, she asked, "What happened, Chlo?"

"Davis found me and stabbed Jimmy in front of me!" she croaked, prompting Lois to gasp and put her injured hand to her mouth in shock. "He was angry that I didn't want to be with him but before he did anything to me, Jimmy got back up and pushed Davis into an exposed metal pole, killing him. Then Jimmy died in my arms Lo!" she coughed out through extreme anguish.

Lois pulled Chloe into a hug and cried with her cousin. She could not believe what had happened. She pulled Chloe tighter and could only whisper "I'm so sorry Chlo!" as her younger cousin finally let all her emotion pour out.

* * *

It had been two days since Lois had discharged herself from hospital. She'd stayed with Chloe at the Talon during that time, to give Chloe a desperately needed shoulder to cry on and to come to terms with her own grief over her friend's death. She had even spoken to Martha over the phone, to Martha's great relief. Clark had remained out of contact and Oliver was nigh-on untraceable. _All those cellphones and no answer_. Lois had resolved to go back to Metropolis that afternoon and visit Jimmy's grave. She hadn't thought of what she was going to say but reckoned that the words would come to her once she was there.

While sorting out her clothes, she found the gold ring she'd been wearing on the monorail. She couldn't recall where she'd found it or even why she had it and had forgotten to ask Chloe if she had any idea. She put the ring in a drawer and was just about to close it when she spotted something material in the corner. She lifted it up and noticed it was a brown bow tie.

* * *

It was a slightly blustery afternoon at the graveyard in Metropolis. Lois had found the grave as per Chloe's instructions and although Chloe had offered to accompany her, Lois said she preferred to go alone. Now she was stood in front of the grave, her thoughts briefly went back to when she first arrived in Smallville and was stood in front of Chloe's grave. She still hated funerals and was a little bit glad she'd missed this one, as selfish as that sounded. She was thinking about what to say when she spotted the little stone cherub beside the gravestone, and the little plastic ABBA figurines just in front of it. She rolled her eyes and let out a little laugh. _Only Jimmy could have something so sappy!_ She took out the bow tie she'd brought with her and placed it around the cherub's neck. Loose fitting for sure but it would stay on quite easily. As much of a fashion faux-pas as it was, the bow tie was another thing uniquely Jimmy.

Now she just had to think of something to say. It was at times like these where uncomfortable silence was preferable but she soldiered on, trying to find a fitting tribute for her friend in her own way.

She reminisced about their friendship. She loved to bust his chops and got a kick out of the fact that he was a little intimidated by her, but Jimmy was a very good friend and colleague. He'd always been chipper and positive and had a naturally friendly demeanour, and he and Lois had made a good team on the numerous assignments they'd been asked to cover, and some they had not. He had helped her when she'd been shot, and she'd been there for him when he was lying in a Star City hospital in a critical condition following the attack on his wedding day.

While Lois still felt that Chloe could have done better in terms of what her man could offer her in life, she had to admit that Jimmy had more heart and cared more about her little cousin than any other guy perhaps could. The tale about the apartment being a case in point. He made it about her and them. Maybe they really were soul mates, if only as soul mates without an entwined destiny.

Above all, Lois thought about how perceptive and sharp Jimmy could be. He'd been attuned to her feelings for Clark long before she was ready to accept that there might be something there. He was hugely supportive of them acting on those feelings and hinted that it was a two-way thing, giving her the confidence to believe that she might just have a chance with the man she was slowly falling in love with. Jimmy also knew how to push her competitive streak to get them both moving up the career ladder at the Daily Planet, and was more than happy to lend a hand when it meant there was something in it for him despite the ridiculous risks she was fond of taking to get a scoop.

 _Ah right, words._ Lois decided short but sweet was the right way.

"Well Jimmy. I know I liked to bust your chops but you always stayed true and loyal, just like a really good friend should. You looked for the best in everybody and that's pretty rare, take it from me. Thanks for the push - you know the one I mean. I know you'd get a kick out of me being sappy but I really am going to miss you. The apartment is so quiet without the snoring although not having to worry about walking in while you're in your tidy whities is a blessing! Watch over my cuz for me. See ya on the front page Jimmy."

She hadn't noticed the tall blue-eyed figure in the long dark coat in the distance watching her.

* * *

 **FIN.**


End file.
